


that's how you get the girl

by aceofdiamonds



Series: baby we're the new romantics // piperbeth neighbours au [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 21:13:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4195104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofdiamonds/pseuds/aceofdiamonds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I know all about that scheme, Chase,” Piper grins, her elbow jabbing at Annabeth’s waist. Annabeth wriggles off the couch to get herself a glass of water, filling it right to the brim. “You can’t seduce me while we watch Disney films, that’s breaking the rules.”</p><p>Annabeth laughs, ignores the fluttering deep in her chest because again, it doesn’t sound like Piper is entirely opposed to whatever might happen, she’s just being very responsible. “No, look, I’ll drink all this water and I’ll sober up and I’ll still want to do this,” Annabeth says, holding the water up beside her head as though to prove her point.</p><p>annabeth has a crush on piper, and she's hiding it fine, honestly, and then things escalate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	that's how you get the girl

**Author's Note:**

> this is a follow-up to that pre-slash thing i did a few months ago. title comes from how you get the girl by taylor swift.

The world is spinning. Just a little.

“How many drinks have you had?” Piper snorts, leaning against the wall between her apartment and Annabeth’s.

Annabeth drops her keys for the second time, fumbling with the lock like it will work if she just jams them in the general direction. One of these times it’s got to work. It’s science. “Shut up,” she mumbles when Piper laughs again, her head rolling back against the door jamb.

“Seriously, man, you’re such a lightweight,” and then Piper is taking the keys from her hands, her other hand holding Annabeth’s wrist to keep her out of the way, and unlocking the door. “You had, like, three vodkas.”

“At least one was a double,” Annabeth protests, turning and gesturing for Piper to come in now the door is open. Since Piper was instrumental in getting them that far she feels it’s only fair to invite her in for a drink. Another drink. After the several they had earlier when they’d met up after work. “And I’m not even drunk.”

“You’re a liar, Annabeth Chase,” Piper proclaims, shutting the door behind her. She takes a step into the living room, turning in a circle as she takes it all in. “This is a real nice place you’ve got here, know of any available apartments nearby?”

“Well the girl next door plays her music too loudly at all hours of the day and night so I imagine you could get her apartment after she’s been evicted.”

Piper smirks, comes over to join Annabeth by the fridge. When she leans past her to grab a glass from beside the sink Annabeth breathes in a whiff of the perfume Piper has sprayed on her neck. This _thing_ she has for her new neighbour has hit Annabeth right out of nowhere and knocked her for six. It’s been six weeks since she met her that first time when she had been studying for exams and Piper had been singing too loud through the wall and it’s barely an exaggeration to say that Annabeth hasn’t really stopped thinking about her since. They said hello to each other in the corridor for a week or so before Piper had invited Annabeth back to her apartment for a drink to apologise for all the singing, an apology Annabeth had waved off with a laugh and a blush when she had admitted she didn’t minded it at all, now it’s not exam time anymore. Since then they’ve met up a few times and they’ve been getting along great. When it comes down to it, Annabeth is beyond thrilled that her new neighbour isn’t old, loud, racist, and sexist like her old one. It’s definitely a step up, on every level.  

“You love my singing,” Piper says confidently.

Annabeth loves it in the way that it’s comforting. It’s loud. It reminds her that there’s someone else living their life just a few feet away from her. Someone who is fun and nice and not at all put off by Annabeth’s sometimes abrasive nature. Piper’s singing is freeing and funny and some days Annabeth plays her music loud, too, sometimes putting on the same album or going for something contrasting, and it feels like they’re part of something together, even when they can’t see each other’s faces. “I do,” she says, easily, honestly.

“You’re pretty great yourself,” Piper grins, and then she pushes away from the counter she’s been leaning against and wanders over into the living room. Annabeth occupies herself with rearranging the magnets on her fridge into countries and then rearranging them again by colour. The Italian one Nico brought her last time he went over to visit family he had discovered he had is hard to place as it’s covered with every colour under the sun. Annabeth places it above the rest of them. She’s been meaning to text him and find out how the conversation about moving in together went with Will.

“Who’s the guy?”

Annabeth spins to see Piper holding a picture frame with Percy and Annabeth encased inside. The photo in question was taken a couple of years ago when Percy had persuaded Annabeth to give skateboarding a try after months of wheedling with her that it was such an efficient and fun way to travel, and so cheap too, think of what you’ll save on commuting. She remembers the look of surprise on Percy’s face when she had turned out to be somewhat good at it straight off the bat. He had called beginner’s luck but two hours later and she was getting even better, titling the board and scraping it along the kerb. Of course, that’s when she got cocky and that’s when she had fallen, breaking her arm in two places on the way down.

“That’s Percy.”

“ _This_ is Percy? Huh.” Piper tilts her head. Annabeth struggles to remember the things she’s told Piper about Percy. “The aquarium geek?”

“The very one. Not like you imagined?”

“I don’t know what I imagined,” and it doesn’t sound like she’s interested in him but it also doesn’t sound like she _isn’t_ , so, Annabeth doesn’t know what to do with that. “Did you two ever date?”

Annabeth walks over to join her, looking down at the picture in her hands. They’re leaning in together, Percy’s hand curved carefully along the cast covering Annabeth’s left arm, and they’re smiling at each other like they’re each other’s favourite person in the world. “We used to. He’s my best friend.”

“Messy breakup?”

“Nah, we just realised we were better off as friends.” It hadn’t been a hard conversation actually, when they had finally gotten around to having it. Annabeth had explained that while Percy was a great kisser, the sex was fun, and calling him her boyfriend was nice, she just thought that maybe they might be better going back to how they were before. Percy said that he’d been having the same thoughts -- don’t get him wrong, he loved her more than anything, he just wasn’t that into the romantic nature of their relationship anymore. See? Easy.

“I had someone like that,” Piper says, leading Annabeth over to the couch and pulling her down onto it with her. “We tried a couple of times and it was nice, it felt good, but I had known this guy for so long I was terrified that if we pursued something it might fuck us up further down the line and I couldn’t deal with that, you know what I mean?”

This conversation is open and huge, these little hidden thoughts spoken quietly into the space between them. It makes Annabeth catch her breath, just barely stopping herself from blurting out everything she’s ever felt about Percy and about Malcolm and that feeling she got when she met Piper for the first time just over a month ago. “Yeah,” she manages. “Definitely.”

Piper hums then, considering. “Sometimes, though, you have to take the risk otherwise you’ll never get anywhere.”

The vodka and cokes sitting in her stomach gives Annabeth that extra rush of courage as she grabs onto this musing and leans in and brushes her lips against Piper’s, quick and soft. She can feel the stickiness of Piper’s lipgloss; it clings to her own lips when she draws back carefully, eyes open.

“That was — unexpected,” Piper says, her voice low.

“Bad unexpected?"

"Nope." She pops the p, her breath hitting Annabeth's chin.

There’s a tingling in her toes that travels right up through her body to her lips. “So -- I can do it again?”

And now Piper shakes her head, a minute movement that dulls the sensation growing inside of Annabeth. “You’re drunk, Annabeth. I won’t take advantage.”

“This isn’t something I’m doing because I’m _drunk_ \-- which I’m _not_ , by the way.” She lets her hand fall against Piper’s on the couch between them, her chipped nails contrasting with Piper’s bright pink glossy manicure. “You make me empathise with Taylor Swift.”

“Elaborate,” Piper says, laughing.

“I like you, Piper. _Romantically_ ,” and maybe she is a little tipsy because she’s only blushing a little as she blurts it out. “And Taylor really knows what she’s talking about with these things.”

“She is an expert,” Piper agrees. “A very wise woman.”

“See? She’s all about grabbing the moment and following your heart and while I respect your decision I feel Taylor would agree that spontaneity is _romantic_.”

Piper smiles, the smile soft around the edges. “I need you to sober up and then we’ll talk,” which isn’t a rejection. Annabeth clings on to that glimmer of hope.

“Can you stay here while I do that? We can watch a movie.”

“I know all about that scheme, Chase,” Piper grins, her elbow jabbing at Annabeth’s waist. Annabeth wriggles off the couch to get herself a glass of water, filling it right to the brim. “You can’t seduce me while we watch Disney films, that’s breaking the rules.”

Annabeth laughs, ignores the fluttering deep in her chest because again, it doesn’t sound like Piper is entirely opposed to whatever might happen, she’s just being very responsible. “No, look, I’ll drink all this water and I’ll sober up and I’ll still want to do this,” Annabeth says, holding the water up beside her head as though to prove her point.

Piper claps her hands together once. “Alright, Annabeth. Drink up. I’ll pick the movie.”

She picks _Miss Congeniality,_ a choice Annabeth approves of whole-heartedly. It’s fun, it’s empowering, it has Sandra Bullock in it, and there’s that song about beauty and grace. Things all completely up her street. Piper falls back onto the couch when she’s set up the DVD, her elbows and knees bumping into Annabeth. The epitome of grace. “I can’t work your machine.”

“It’s very temperamental,” Annabeth agrees. “We just have to close our eyes and pray, I guess.”

That’s when Piper laughs, her shoulder jiggling where it’s pressed against Annabeth’s. “This is how I know you’re at least a little drunk. Sober you would never leave it up to the hands of fate.”

“Maybe there’s a lot you don’t know about me, Piper. I could be _extremely_ superstitious.”

“Granted I’ve only known you a few weeks but Jesus, the walls are so thin, I feel we know each other more than we think,” she says and then she winks, implying so much more. Annabeth thinks back over the last few weeks since Piper moved in trying to recall if she’d brought anyone back, and then she doesn’t know whether to be relieved or not that it’s only been herself.

“Are you saying you’re a perv, Piper McLean?” She laughs loudly at the look on Piper’s face, not quite affronted, the glint in her eye still there.

“All I’m saying is that I haven’t heard much praying going on.”

“Hmm. I’ve always thought the Greeks had it right -- you know, the gods for the different things? One for war, another for wisdom, dreams, revenge.”

Piper nods. “Sounds like a good system. Think there’s one for technology? Specifically DVD players?”

It’s then that the screen flashes blue and the opening music begins playing, all on its own. Piper’s eyes widen considerably but Annabeth just shrugs. One time it had stopped working right in the middle of _Like Crazy_ and hadn’t played again for three days. She’s used to it.

So they watch the film and it’s going fine. Annabeth is focusing on her breathing and Piper is laughing at Michael Caine, and after half an hour or so Annabeth relaxes, forgets about the fact that she’s thinking too much about this girl beside her, and watches the film.

When the bad guys have been caught and there’s been the big kiss on screen the credits start to roll an Piper turns to Annabeth almost impatiently. “Okay, so, on a scale from 1 to 10 how drunk are you right now?”

“Considering I started at maybe a six and since then I’ve drank so much water I’m probably flooding my system I can confidently say I’m a one on the scale, what about you? How come you’re holding your liquor so well?”

“Maybe because I stayed away from hard liquor altogether and stuck to wine.”

“Don’t boast.”

“Hey, Annabeth, don’t try and regret your choices now. You made them.”

“Sometimes I make terrible choices,” she says, sighing dramatically.

“But sometimes you make really good ones.”

Piper brings a hand up to cup Annabeth's cheek gently, holding her face as she lowers her face to Annabeth's, watching for any sign that she doesn't want to do this. She raises an eyebrow in one last silent question, Annabeth nods once, quick, and then their mouths are meeting and they’re kissing. Piper draws back once more to check again that this is okay and then she leans in and kisses her again, this time opening her mouth to Annabeth’s and then nudging at her waist, shifting so Annabeth is lying mostly on top of Piper, the control completely in her court, should she wish to stop.

It’s a thoughtful gesture but the idea of stopping is the furthest thing from her mind. Annabeth doesn’t know what she expected when she realised a few weeks ago that she really wanted to kiss her new next door neighbour Piper Mclean. She had had a minor freak-out about it, called Percy who had told her it was perfectly normal to be less straight than you initially thought you were, and then she had thought a lot about kissing Piper. Now it’s happening and she feels both completely out of her depth and startlingly like she knows exactly what she’s doing. Sure she’s kissed guys before and that had been great but this is different -- she doesn’t know what it is exactly, beyond the obvious observations about beards and angles, there’s just something lighter, something that’s making her feel giddy and incredible as she arches her body against Piper’s.

“God, Piper,” she mumbles, dipping to run her tongue along Piper’s jaw, smudging a kiss at her ear. The fruity smell is overwhelming here, enough to make Annabeth feel a little dizzy. Her hands hunt for a place to touch Piper that will ground her but all she gets is a multiplication of that falling feeling. She leans into it, breathing heavy, and finds Piper’s mouth again, kissing her deeply.

It’s the feeling of Piper’s body against her that really has her going. Her fingers fumble across the breadth of Piper’s stomach, pressing lightly at the curve of her hips, so much softer than any boy she’s ever been with. There’s something wonderful about the feel of her boobs pressed against Piper’s, soft and fuck, when she shifts and she feels a jolt deep in her stomach. Maybe wonderful’s not the right word -- no, it’s really fucking hot.

She pulls back for a second, eager to spend as little time required away from Piper’s mouth, and yanks her t-shirt over her head. Piper blinks slowly up at her, pupils blown and cheeks flushed, her gaze dropping to Annabeth’s chest. She traces the cup of her bra with a long finger, her nail slipping under the rim to brush along her skin. Annabeth gasps quietly. It’s taken as a sign of encouragement as Piper raises her other hand to feel for the clasp at Annabeth’s back, making quick work of it.

Annabeth drops down and kisses Piper again, her hands finding their way into Piper’s hair where she tugs it from its plait so it falls around her shoulders. She reaches for the hem of Piper’s tank top, pushing it up as far as it can go before she reluctantly breaks away and pulls it over Piper’s head.

It takes her a longer moment then to pull herself back. “I’ve not done this before,” she says when Piper raises an eyebrow and twists her mouth into a smile at Annabeth’s staring. “Not with a girl.”

“This is your lucky day,” Piper says, trailing her hands up Annabeth’s back before pulling her back down and licking into her mouth. Annabeth feels from anyone else that line would be too cheesy, too sleazy, especially with the accompanied smirk, but God, she’s been thinking about this moment for a long while and everything that could happen. She’s pretty sure nothing could put her off. Instead she leans into the feel of Piper’s tongue in her mouth, her hands that are running up and down her sides, touch feather-light, before they cup her breasts.

Annabeth’s confident enough in her bisexuality at this point. She knows sex with men can feel great and she’s well on course to discovering that sex with women can be just as brilliant so she’s not going to compare the two. Instead she rolls the two of them over so she’s on her back, stretched along the couch, Piper straddling her hips, and she yields control to Piper, to show her everything that she can do with her mouth, her fingers, and what she can do to Piper, what they can both do at the same time. She leans in and joins their mouths together again, licking into Piper’s mouth with a desperation that she wonders if she can blame on the drinking she so vehemently denied. Or more likely she just really really wants this. To the point where her kissing is sloppy and clumsy due to the distracting heat between her legs.

Her hips jerk suddenly when Piper’s hand finds its way to that space, pushing her jeans out of the way and then her panties too, her fingers running over her folds and sliding into her. She moans, breaking away to drop her head back against the couch cushions because fuck it’s been a few months since someone else has touched her there, she’d almost forgotten how great it feels.

“Fuck, Piper.”

“What?” Piper asks, her voice a little raspy. “What would you like me to do, Annabeth?”

“More please. More fingers.”

And Piper laughs, pressing kisses into Annabeth’s neck, the sound of her laughter vibrating against her skin. “I’ll do better than that, okay?”

Annabeth sucks in a breath when Piper moves her mouth down her body, biting lightly at the slight curve of her hip and licking over the mark, her breathing heavy and warm on her skin. She tugs Annabeth’s panties further down her thighs, just enough so she can mouth over her, her tongue dipping into where her fingers were seconds ago.

“People tell me I’m good at this,” Piper says, grinning when Annabeth bats at her head in a gesture that clearly translates as _please hurry up and get on with it_. “Hey, watch it, or you might not get --”

“ _Please_ , Piper."

"Never would've guessed you for a beggar," she grins, and she ducks down and licks over her clit quickly, her lips moving over her, opening and closing. She pulls off for a second, head tilted. “But I am enjoying it.”

Annabeth's fingers grasp for Piper's hair, frantic for a split second that this is too forward, too much, but when she relaxes her grip Piper lifts a hand and pushes Annabeth's back to where it was, her fingers locking in place. It's the permission Annabeth needed -- that she can press Piper's face against her, that she can cant her hips up into Piper's mouth, rolling them to gain friction and more more more and that Piper loves this, wants more and more of it if you can go by the sounds she’s making as she eats out Annabeth. Percy always loved eating her out much more than she liked returning the favour. He was always enthusiastic about it, going fast and steady until she was coming in under five minutes, her legs weak and her nerves frazzled. Piper teases her orgasm out of her bit by bit until Annabeth is whimpering and begging her to let her come. She moans when Annabeth twists a lock of her hair in her fingers and pulls her head up to say, “Come on, Annabeth.” It’s almost embarrassing how quickly she comes after that, her body twisting at the hips and her toes curling as she pants through her orgasm.

She takes a moment as her pulse drops back down to breathe, a shaky smile in place when Piper looks at her almost expectantly. “That was great,” she says after another few seconds. “Those people -- they were right.”

“You’re adorable,” Piper laughs, moving up and kissing her, her lips sticky like Annabeth’s lipgloss. “I appreciate the compliment although I think I got the message loud and clear when your thighs were locked around my neck.”

“Hey, shut up,” Annabeth says weakly. “I wanna go now.”

Piper shifts so she’s more fully on the couch, turning Annabeth’s body so she’s held between Piper’s body and the back of the couch. “Go for it,” she says, gesturing down to her crotch, and then she smiles at the flash of worry on Annabeth’s face. “I promise, Annabeth, that I will come so fucking fast no matter what you do, don’t overthink it.”

With men it's easier to tell when they're turned on, all you have to do is look down at their crotch and there it is, flagging your attention to the area. With women it's a little harder. Annabeth trails her hand down Piper's stomach, hesitantly pushing her panties down her thighs, and it's not until she's dipping in and she feels wet beneath her fingers, slippery and warm, that she knows a hundred percent that Piper is very much into this. Of course, she has known that from the moment she kissed her and the moan that had fallen into her mouth, but feeling her is different, a lot more real. It's easier than she expected it to be -- she does what she likes on herself, tracing a finger lightly along her folds, so light she can barely feel it, and then she quickly presses down and slips a finger in, pulling a strangled gasp from Piper.

It’s _more_ than she expected, touching another woman here, feeling her around her fingers. There’s so much the same here from what she feels when she touches herself but there are so many differences too. When she circles her clit Piper’s mouth falls open and she looks like her eyes might roll back into her head while that doesn’t do much for Annabeth, she much prefers the feel of fingers inside of her, opening her up. Delighted with the reaction, she focuses her attention on Piper’s clit, dragging her nails gently over it, ducking to suck a kiss onto Piper’s neck when she feels hands scrabble at her hips, pleading for more. “This is so fun,” she murmurs, sliding her finger into Piper, adding another and spreading them inside her, just how she likes it. She raises her head to meet Piper’s eyes. Her pupils are blown so only the smallest rim of blue shows around the edges. The swell of accomplishment and pleasure that Annabeth feels that she can do this to the neighbour she’s thought about, the girl she’s lusted over, is enough to make her want to go another round and then another. “I’m having so much fun,” she says again.

“Yeah --” Piper gasps, wriggling on the couch, her hand coming down to hold Annabeth’s closer to her. “Me too.” And then she’s running her thumb over her clit, her hand meeting Annabeth’s where she’s fucking her with her fingers. “Hey, Annabeth,” she says, waiting for Annabeth to look into her eyes and then she kisses her, her hand circling Annabeth’s wrist and holding her there, her kissing turning sloppy and wet as she comes.

Her eyes stay closed when Annabeth pulls away from the kiss, gently pulling her fingers out of Piper, and she only opens them again when Annabeth moves to pull her underwear back into place. Her grin is lopsided and lazy, so smug with the evening’s outcome. Annabeth bets hers is exactly the same.

“This was really fun,” Piper says quietly, her lips brushing Annabeth’s cheek. “The most fun I’ve had this year.”

“It’s only May,” Annabeth points out.

Piper sighs. “True. But, Annabeth, I would definitely like to do this again and I am sure next time could be even better, as unbelievable as that sounds.”

“You’re flattering me,” Annabeth laughs, that giddy feeling from before back. “I would love to do this again. In case you haven’t guessed this has been something I’ve been thinking about for a while.”

“Let me tell you something,” Piper says, leaning in, her forehead furrowed. “I have also been using Taylor Swift as an emotional outlet for my frustration. I know your game, Chase. I’ve been playing it too.”

“Somehow I don’t think she planned for her music to lead to two slightly drunk girls to have sex on a couch.”

Piper raises herself onto one elbow. “Well, we should write her a thank you note anyway, don’t you think?”

And while Annabeth agrees completely she finds herself distracted for the time being. She leans up and kisses Piper, her hand cradling her head to pull her closer. While Taylor Swift may have indirectly brought her to this moment she has no need for her for this part. She thinks she knows what she's doing and even if she doesn't she knows everything's going to work out just fine anyway. Tonight she took a leap and it paid off and it's really hard to beat that sort of feeling. 

  
  
  
  



End file.
